Nate Smith keeps California country alive and kicking on this sophomore outing, which follows the quickly rising singer-songwriter’s 2023 self-titled debut full-length album as well as his 2024 Through the Smoke EP. California Gold is an aptly titled project from the Paradise, California, native, as Smith imbues his take on contemporary pop country with sunny hooks and a throwback sound, and celebrates what he loves about his hometown on the title track. In typical Smith fashion, he throws a few curveballs in the mix, too, like the Avril Lavigne duet “Can You Die From a Broken Heart” and closing track “I Like It,” a collaboration with EDM artist Alesso that’s far better suited to a nightclub than a honky-tonk. Smith tells Apple Music that at the end of the day, he cares most about connecting with listeners and staying true to himself in his music, even when it deviates from the norm. “Every single song has a different purpose,” he says. “I feel like they’re almost vitamins or something, for different things that you need.” “Want Me Back” “I think sometimes in relationships, you become somebody else or you want to compromise to make a relationship work. And it probably came from an insecure place where I wanted the relationship so bad that I was willing to give up parts of myself and things, and parts that maybe they're important to me and not other people. But I like to drink and I like to have fun, and maybe that wouldn't work for somebody. You know what I mean? I hold back the party side of me, which, I think that’s a fun side of me… And you realize, too, after you break up, after a while, ‘Oh my gosh, I'm not doing that anymore. I'm not doing this.’ And you're like, ‘I just want who I am back. I want that person.’ That was one of the last songs we wrote, too, for the album.” “What Alone Looks Like” “‘What Alone Looks Like’ is this rocking song. It's the one I play the most, probably. But it's so visceral and it can mean two things. It can mean I'm losing you or I don't ever want to lose you, but it has this ‘ah.’” “Can You Die From a Broken Heart” (feat. Avril Lavigne) “I don't ever want to say that it's 2.0 of [Avril Lavigne’s] ‘I'm With You,’ because that song's just so special and everything, but it's certainly a nod and it definitely has those melodies. When you hear it, you go, ‘That's the Avril I've missed. That's the Avril I've wanted to hear.’ This song was designed for her.” “Not of This Earth” “If you're in the mood to just be loving with your person, ‘Not of This Earth,’ you put that on and the two of you are just like, ‘Man, your love is something I've never experienced. It doesn't even seem like it's on planet Earth.’” “California Gold” “It was the last song we wrote. Me and Ashley Gorley and John Byron and Lindsay Rimes, we were walking out of the writing room and we're like, ‘Oh, crap. We didn't write the title track. We forgot to write “California Gold.” How did we do this?’ We were sitting there and we were like, ‘Well, let's just try. Let's just bust it out.’ We started talking about things I grew up with, so there's Easter eggs in there. Honey Run River was the river in Paradise, Chico, that we would jump in and hang out at. I smoked Prime Times—they are these little flavored cigars, little miniature cigars, black cherry and all that stuff. A lot of Easter eggs in that song.”